I like my Feisol tripod; the legs are nicely constructed, lightweight
carbon fiber. Main attraction for me was the price(can't recall exactly
but it was a looot cheaper than the italian brands); I bought it one
and a half years ago when I was first getting into photography and it
has become my **favorite** piece of equipment, I rarely go out shooting
without a tripod now(but I like night/long exposure's so its pretty
necessary for my style).

I really can't emphasize how buying a tripod changed my photography - I
take less photos, more of which are keepers(reducing film/developing
costs) and most importantly: it allows a full range of aperture/shutter
speed combos and makes the amount of available light a non-issue. If I
were to repurchase a tripod today; price would be the last
consideration for me(behind weight/portability). It really is the one
piece of equipment that has proven its worth to me time and time again.
I look at it like this: buying a camera and all the lenses to go with
it is great; but what good is it if you can only use a small fraction
of the shutter speed/aperture combos - doesn't really much room to
realize your "artistic vision".

This is getting too long but I'll will add one more thing: can't say
I'm a fan of the Feisol head. The knobs are a pain to use, and the
screws in the base of it keep coming loose. This allows the ball to
wobble a few degrees horizontally even after the knobs are locked down,
requiring the whole head to be removed. Then I have to get out a
screwdriver(which I now carry around in my photo bag) and tighten up
the screws - very non-intuitive/distracting.

Alex Watanabe
http://musato.deviantart.com/gallery